ABSTRACT
This comparative study examines what kinds of societal forces shape European relationships towards democratic political life in contemporary Europe.
Drawing on data from the European Social Survey (ESS), the book develops a theoretical perspective on the relationship between social structure and democracy and links this to research on social capital and political behaviour. The authors explore the impact of individual social characteristics on a broad range of the Europeans’ political attitudes and behaviours. They investigate how the social position of the individuals in the European societies contributes to the explanation of the national and cross-national patterns of political engagement, addressing trust in the social and political environment, life satisfaction, party preferences and attitudes towards migration and migrants.
Providing detailed descriptions of the similarities and differences among the various European publics at the beginning of the 21st century, Society and Democracy in Europe will be of strong interest to students and scholars of European politics, political participation and political sociology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|48 pages
Values
chapter 2|23 pages
Social location and value priorities
part II|110 pages
Attitudes
chapter 5|28 pages
Social structure and political trust in Europe
chapter 8|16 pages
The working of multicultural democracy
part III|82 pages
Behaviour